The IRS! - Did You Know.........

Did you know that the IRS has outsourced their work and is putting the public's info into the hands of people who are outside of the US?

To read more about this just click below:

Don't Mess With Taxes!

Have You Ever Heard Of Kevin Trudeau?

Have you ever heard of Kevin Trudeau?  He's the guy that comes on late-night TV with his infomercials.  He has written many books, ie "Debt Cures", "Free Money" and books about weight loss as well as other books relating to financial subjects.

It seems that he is in trouble (again) with the FTC who claims that he is fraudulent.  According to the FTC, he has been branded as a snakeoil salesman "who misleads consumers into buying a wide-range of products that he claims can help people beat cancer, fix their finances, improve their memory....basically, fix anything".

Trudeau continues to say that he hasn't done anything wrong.  Not one consumer has filed a complaint against Trudeau with the FTC.

He has vowed to continue on with what he is doing.

Forex - What Does It Mean?

Of course I have seen this term mentioned again and again and I even looked it up once just to see what it was all about. Personally I wasn't too interested in it but just in case you are.....

here is a definition of forex that I have found online:

An over-the-counter market where buyers and sellers conduct foreign exchange transactions. The Forex market is useful because it helps enable trade and transactions between countries, and it also allows an investment opportunity for risk seeking investors who don't mind engaging in speculation. Individuals who trade in the Forex market typically look carefully at a country's economic and political situation, as these factors can influence the direction of its currency. One of the unique aspects of the Forex market is that the volume of trading is so high, partially because the units exchanged are so small. It is estimated that around $4 trillion goes through the Forex market each day! also called foreign exchange market.

A Tax On Grocery Bags - Part 2!

This is continued information from a previous post here on this blog.

Well it seems more and more stores are starting to charge their customers for using paper bags. I saw a new post about this subject on one of the forums that I belong to.

I was surprised to see how many more places are charging their customers for using the stores plastic bags. In my own local area I really know of only one store - Aldi's that charges customers for using their bags. They charge something like 25 cents per bag.

It's going to make grocery shopping a more expensive trip.

It certainly is not going to be a good way to help people get out of debt! It is certain going to contribute to a person's credit card debt if they are paying for their groceries with a credit card!

In California Taxpayers May Get An IOU Instead Of A Tax Refund!

Like a lot of states, California is also feeling the "pinch"! Not since 1992 has the state issued IOU's instead of cash payments. In 1992, amid a budget crisis triggered by a deep recession, natural disasters and the Los Angeles riots, California ran short of cash and was forced to send out thousands of IOUs. They resembled checks but included a notice that they could not be paid by California "for want of funds."

In addition to maybe not receiving tax refunds, there is also the possibility that some student grant payments will not be made as well and that vendors may also not be paid! Under the state Constitution, schools and bondholders get first rights to any cash from the state. Among the first to get IOUs instead of payments would be business and individual taxpayers who are expecting refunds, local governments and recipients of grants from that state's student aid organization. Last year, more than 10 million taxpayers received state refunds totaling $8 billion.

Court-appointed lawyers, 1,700 judges, legislators and their staffs would also go unpaid. And officials are preparing to delay a popular program that helps elderly and disabled Californians by paying their property taxes.

Last year, nearly 5,500 homeowners benefited from a 32-year-old Property Tax Program, which was created to help keep low-income elderly people from being forced to sell their homes or lose them to foreclosure.

(For more information about student loans and grants, just click here)

There is a budget gap (projected to reach $41.6 billion dollars by the middle of next year) in California and no agreements between Govenor Schwarzenegger and the democratic legislators so far.

In a letter sent to the Democrats on Tuesday night explaining his veto, Schwarzenegger wrote: "The measures you sent me punish people with increased taxes, but do not make the serious cuts in spending necessary to balance our budget; do nothing to help keep California families working during this recession; and do nothing to help Californians facing foreclosure in this mortgage crisis."

Another Fee That Farmers May Have To Pay?

As a person that does grant research for a living, there have been times when I have had to defend them but here is a strange story!

It seems that there is a proposed new fee that farmers may have to pay for some of their farm animals! Here is an excerpt:

"An Environmental Protection Agency proposal to combat air pollution from flatulent farm animals would require farms with large number of animals to pay annual fees of about $175 for each dairy cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and $20 for each hog."

If this proposed fee becomes law, it is estimated that some farmers could pay as much as $30,000 per year!

Farmers (as well as mostly everybody else) are struggling now as it is and as you can well imagine some farmers are not happy with this proposed fee!

You can read more about this proposed fee by going to the link below:

Making Farmers Pay For "Gassy" Animals?

Be Careful About Those Checks!

A check is merely an IOU, and IOUs can be written on anything. Someone once wrote a $15 check on an eggshell. The recipient took the eggshell to a bank in Canada, where it was cashed like any other check.